The 27th Annual Cyclone Classic will tip off today at 4 p.m. when Camden Fairview takes on Arkadelphia. The Russellville Cyclones will be in action at 8:30 p.m. against Sylvan Hills.

Russellville head coach Codey Mann said that he expects a good show to anyone who comes out to watch the event.

“I really do believe that this year’s tournament is one of the deepest we’ve had as far as talent goes,” he explained. “I believe Alma is returning a lot of people from last year. They won last year and they’re clearly the favorite. After that, I believe it’s up for grabs. Every team from there on is pretty competitive. Put it this way, I think it’s going to be whoever plays well on any given night is who is going to move on to the next round.”

The Cyclones certainly didn’t catch any breaks in the draw. Russellville will face Sylvan Hills first. Mann said that the two teams match up pretty well, but that it was definitely going to be a challenge for his young Cyclones.

“Sylvan Hills lost a host of players last year,” Mann said. “Including one of the best players to come through the state, probably since Corliss Williamson, in Archie Goodwin. They have a really talented sophomore group that went undefeated when they were in Junior High. They beat a really good Maumelle team but lost to Beebe.

“I think they’re really comparable to us. Young and talented. Inexperienced but talented.”

Mann went on to explain that with a young team you can never quite know what to expect.

“During the course of one game it can be like a roller coaster sometimes,” he said.

But facing talented teams has been a goal of Mann’s from the beginning of the season. The Cyclones hope to sharpen themselves before the conference season rolls around because Russellville plays in one of the toughest conferences in the state.

“Once we get into conference play it’s going to be athletic teams night in and night out,” Mann said. “We need to prepare ourselves.”

Mann said he expects Russellville to be a major contender in the tournament. He said he saw a lot of improvement from the team during the Republic Missouri Invite they just competed in.

“I felt like we got a lot better despite losing that one game to the host team, Republic,” Mann said. “We’ve mixed up some things on offense and started playing a lot more on defense.”

The Cyclone Classic is sponsored for the first year since inception by Liberty Bank. Mann said that the sponsorship takes a burden off the booster club and helps pay for expenses.

“We pay each team 300 dollars for coming to the tournament. That’s 2100 dollars for all twelve teams. Our booster club used to foot the bill. This really helps with that.”

Mann emphasized that the booster club still plays a huge role in making sure the tournament goes off without a hitch.

“We appreciate everything the booster club does to help run this tournament.

“The parents of the kids are so involved. You really can’t say enough about them,” he said.